Singapore police arrest 31 people including elderly woman for vice and gambling activities

Police conducted three-day long raids on vice and gambling activities and arrested 31 people for their suspected involvement in the criminal offence on Tuesday, August 7. They also nabbed an 80-year-old woman, who was one of those alleged offenders.

In a statement published on Tuesday, the police said that all those arrested offenders are aged between 20 and 80. There were 16 women who were arrested for committing offences under the Woman's Charter. Police also mentioned that these women were believed to have advertised sexual services online as well as they were conducting vice activities at hotels and rented apartments in the city.

Police seized a total of $22,261 cash from the offenders. They also arrested 13 men and a 22-year-old woman for violating the Common Gaming Houses Act.

The investigators seized a laptop and mobile phone from the elderly woman, 80, and arrested her for breaching Remote Gambling Act, which states that - (1) In this Act, "remote gambling" means gambling in which a person participates in the use of remote communication, even if the gambling is done only partly by means of remote communication.

(2) In this Act, "remote communication" means communication through —

(a)

the Internet;

(b)

telephone;

(c)

television or radio; or

(d)

any other kind of electronic or other technology for facilitating communication,

but does not include any specific system or method of communication that the Minister declares, by order in the Gazette, is not to be treated as remote communication for the purposes of this Act.As per the law if the elderly woman found guilty under the Remote Gambling Act 2014, then she shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

In the same statement, police advised the landlords and the hotel owners to keep an eye on the tenants to ensure that they will not commit any kind of vice activities on their premises. They also added that if the officers find any unsilenced brothel operators, then offenders could face a jail term up to five years with or without a fine up to $10,000.

Police said that if the officers caught anyone involved in gaming in a common gaming house, the offender shall be liable for a fine up to $5000 or imprisonment of up to six months, or both.